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PhoneSoap: Using UV Light to Get Phones Squeaky Clean

We’ve all been there. You accidentally walk in on someone in a public restroom, and he/she is sitting in the stall, phone out, texting.

Well, I’ve been there. Even if you haven’t had an eyewitness experience, research tells us that many people either talk or text in the bathroom, or they aren’t washing their hands properly before picking up their phones. A recent study from United Kingdom researchers found that about one in six people have fecal matter on their cell phones.

This and similar studies inspired the creation of PhoneSoap, an early-stage device that sanitizes smartphones via UV-C light. No lather, rinse, repeat necessary.

“A little over a year ago my cousin, Wes, and I were watching TV when we saw a report stating that our phones have 18 times more harmful bacteria than the handle on a male public toilet,” PhoneSoap co-creator Dan Barnes wrote on the product page.

Barnes and Wes LaPorte, PhoneSoap’s other co-creator, found more studies that said staph, E. Coli, and MRSA also live on cell phones. Disgusted, the two started brainstorming ways to disinfect their phones.

LaPorte was working in a cancer research lab, which sterilizes equipment by UV-C light. The cousins ultimately adopted the method for their device.

PhoneSoap is a small box that can also be used as a phone charger. Cell phones can be left to charge in the box over night, but the UV-C light is only on for three to five minutes. Watch the video below the fold to see how it works.

PhoneSoap is on Kickstarter, an online funding platform that helps project founders find backers. Barnes and LaPorte pledged to raise $18,000; they’ve exceeded their goal and still have 19 days left to go in their funding period.

In the comments section of the product page, people are already saying that they also want to see an iPad-sized Soap.